


Stumble

by AutisticWriter



Series: One-Word Whump Prompts [6]
Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Common Cold, During Canon, Families of Choice, Ficlet, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26011168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Swaine has a cold but won’t admit how rotten he feels. Until the kids, Drippy and his own weak body force the truth out of him.
Relationships: Jairo | Swaine & Maru | Esther & Oliver (Ni no Kuni) & Shizuku | Drippy
Series: One-Word Whump Prompts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871002
Kudos: 12





	Stumble

Swaine blows his nose, groaning as his stuffed-up head throbs, and silently longs for his bed back at the local inn. But he must push onwards; Oliver’s quest can’t wait for a simple cold to go away. Still, that doesn’t stop how awful Swaine feels, and the cold is just making his performance in battle suffer to the point he must be more of a hinderance than a help.

Esther, who had been several paces ahead of him, drops back to walk beside Swaine. “Do you need a break, Swaine?” she asks.

“Yeah, we can stop if you need to,” Oliver says, smiling.

“Nah, I’m okay. Let’s carry on,” Swaine says, but his nasal voice sounds incredibly unconvincing.

And then his flipping body betrays him. As they stare at him, Swaine’s head swims and he wobbles, forcing Swaine into an inelegant stumble to stay on his feet.

“Swaine!” Oliver cries right as Esther says, “Careful!”

As Swaine tries to regain his balance, the two kids grab his arms, helping to stabilize him. Of course, they’re too short to stop him falling if he full-on faints, but the help works well for his current state.

“Flippin’ liar,” Drippy says, hopping onto Oliver’s head and staring at Swaine, but his abrasive voice has never sounded so soft. “C’mon, sit your bum down before ya fall, mun. Or these two force ya,” he adds, chuckling.

Swaine looks at the kids, knowing how stubborn Oliver and Esther can be (just like him when he was young, not that he ever grew out of it), and knows that Drippy isn’t exaggerating; if he doesn’t sit down right now, the kids will force him to do just that.

So he gives in. “Fine, fine,” Swaine says, dropping to sit cross-legged on the slightly damp forest floor. He sniffs, head pounding, and smiles weakly when Esther passes him another tissue. “You win.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/WriterAutistic)


End file.
